Locking means for shaft keys



Aug. 7, 1951 A J, l, GARDNER 2,563,166 K LOCKING MEANS FOR SHAFT KEYSFiled July 5, 1947 Inventor Jack Gard-ner Patented Aug. 7, 1,951

-UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE f LOCKING MEANS FOR-SHAFT l Jack I.Gardner, Hays, Mont.. E

Application July 3, 1947, Serial No. 758,959 l The present inventionrelates to new and useful improvements in keys for holding gears orother V'objects to shafts and V thev invention has for its primarykobject to` provide means for locking they key against accidentalremoval from the keyway in the shaft.

A further object of the invention is tovprovide locking pins carried bythe key and adapted for insertion in openings in thegear or other objectfastened tothefshaftxir s I 1 Another object of the invention is toprovide a self-.locking pin for keys of this character and providingmeans whereby the locking pin may be released to remove the object fromthe shaft, when desired.

A still further object is to provide a device of this character ofsimple and practical construction, which is e1`l`cient and reliable inoperation, relatively inexpensive to manufacture, and other- Wise welladapted for the purposes for which the same is intended.

Other objects and advantages reside in the details of construction andoperation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings forming part hereof, wherein likenumerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view illustrating one type of key with thelocking pins shown thereon;

Figure 2 is a similar view of a modied key construction;

Figure 3 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the key in lockingengagement with a wheel connected to a shaft;

Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken on a line 4 4of Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of a further modied type of key;

Figure 6 is an end elevational view thereof;

Figure '7 is a perspective view of still another key construction; and

Figure 8 is an end elevational view thereof.

Referring now to the drawing in detail and with particular reference toFigures l, 3 and 4 of the drawing, I have illustrated a modified form ofshaft key indicated at 5 and which is of circular segmental constructionand having a bar 6 extending outwardly at each end of the key.

The key 5 is adapted to be seated in a key seat or groove 1 in a shaft 8while the bars 6 are received partly in a longitudinally extendinggroove 9 in the shaft and partly in a longitudinally extending groove l0in the hub Il of a gear or the like l2.

The bar 6 is provided with one or more recesses 7; Claims: (Cl.287-52.05)

l3 formed: in its edge provided vwith the key 5 and a bore I4 extendsfrom theinner end of the recess to theV opposite side of the bar and` inwhich a locking pin I5V isy slidably received. The innerend of the. pinis formed with a flange or head positioned` in the recess 'I3-andagainst which a coil spring Il is held by a plug I8 suitably secured inthe outer end of 1 the recess. The springproje'cts thefpin l5 outwardlyfrom the side of the "bar 6 Vopposite to thezkey 5.

The hub I I ofthe gear or wheelxlZ isprovided with fa. radiallyextending opening', I9- `in which the 'pin l5fis received as shown.iniFigurefSrof the drawing, to lock the key 5 and bar 6 againstlongitudinal movement relative to the shaft 8 and thus secure the keyagainst accidental displacement in its seat or groove 1.

The pins l5 also lock the gear I2 on the shaft 8 without requiring theuse of nuts or other fastening devices.

When it is desired to remove the key 5 andA bar 6 a pointed tool isinserted in the opening I9 to retract the pin l5 in the recess I3whereby the hub Il of the gear is free to slide 01T the shaft. f

In Figure 2 a modied type of key is illustrated wherein a single bar 20projects from one edge of the key 2|, the bar having one or more of thespring-projected locking pins 22 positioned therein.

Figure 5 illustrates another modified type of key wherein the bar 23 isof a width greater than the width of the key 24 and the bar is alsoprovided with the spring-projected locking pin 25.

Figures '7 and 8 illustrate a still further modified constructionwherein the key 26 is of a width greater than the width of the bar 21and is also provided with the spring-projected locking pin 28.

In view of the foregoing description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawing it is believed that a clear understanding of thedevice will be quite apparent to those skilled in this art. A moredetailed description is accordingly deemed unnecessary.

It is to be understood, however, that even though there is herein shownand described a preferred embodiment of the invention the same issusceptible to certain changes fully comprehended by the spirit of theinvention as herein described and the scope of the appended claims.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. In a shaft key of the class described, locking means carried by thekey holding the key in locking engagement with a shaft and an objectmounted thereon, said means comprising a spring projected locking pin.

2. In a key of the class described, locking means carried by the keyholding the key in locking engagement with a pair of elements mountedone upon the other, said means comprising a spring projected locking pinengaging one of said elements.

3. A shaft key comprising a circular segmental member, a bar extendingfrom one end of the member in the plane thereof, and a spring projectedlocking pin carried by the bar. y

4. A shaft key comprising a circular segmental member, a bar extendingfrom one end of the member in the plane thereof, and a spring projectedlocking pin carried by the bar, at its edge opposite from the member.

5. The combination of a shaft and object mounted thereon, said objecthaving a bore for receiving the shaft and an opening extending outwardlythrough the object from the bore, of a key extending longitudinally inthe bore and connecting the object to the shaft, and locking meanscarried by the key and received in said opening.

6. The combination of a shaft and object mounted thereon, said objecthaving a bore for receiving the shaft and an opening extending outwardlythrough the object from the bore, of a key extending longitudinally inthe bore and connecting the object to the shaft, and locking 4 meanscarried by the key and received in said opening, said locking meanscomprising a spring projected pin.

7. 'I'he combination of a shaft and object mounted thereon and havingopposed longitudinal grooves, the groove of the shaft having a key seatand said object having an opening extending radially from its groove, ofa key connecting the object to the shaft, and including a circularsegmental portion engaged in said key seat, a bar extending from one endof the semicircular portion in the plane thereof and partly engaged inthe grooves of the shaft and object, and a spring projected locking pincarried by the bar and engaged in said opening.

JACK I. GARDNER.

REFERENCES crrlm The following references are of record in the le ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 226,113 Rominger Mar. 30, 1880313,711 Corser Mar. 10, 1885 775,433 Werle Nov. 22, 1904 831,745 RiceSept. 25, 1906 1,049,984 Bowers Jan. 7, 1913 1,221,709 Dyett Apr. 3,1917 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 637,288 France Apr. 26, 1928393,473 Great Britain June 8, 1933

